At the Munich Circus
by Lucinda
Summary: Willow meets a new friend in Germany: Kurt Wagner. Set the summer after season 2, pre-X-Men 2. Series complete.
1. At the Munich Circus

At the Munich Circus  
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg/pg13  
  
main characters: Willow, Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler from X-Men)  
  
pairing #159 at TQC http://quickie.moonlitpaths.com/  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to anyone from BtVS or X-Men/Marvel Comics.  
  
distribution: WLS, WWW, Bite Me, Twisting, Paula, Jen - anyone else just ask.  
  
notes: set the summer after season 2 BtVS.  
  
Willow sat on the porch, staring at a tree. Buffy was gone, accused of murdering Kendra, who was dead. Dru had killed her, nearly caught Willow when the evil vampire and the minions with her had attacked the library. They'd killed Kendra and interrupted the Restoration ritual. Granted she had later completed it, while in the hospital from all the various injuries from one of the bookcases falling on her, but still... Kendra was dead, Buffy accused of murder and vanished, Angelus... no, Angel gone, Giles had been tortured, and she was still injured. She wasn't stuck in the wheelchair anymore, but everything still hurt, and she wasn't at her best.  
  
Her parents were home, and had been horribly appalled by the unexplained attack on the library. They were both worried about her, and she'd caught her parents discussing the idea of sending her to a private school somewhere safer. Both of them had been unexpectedly good about her injuries, helping her when she needed it, but not pushing. Maybe there was an advantage to all that psychiatric knowledge after all.  
  
"Willow, honey? Your father and I have talked about it, and we think that maybe it would do you some good to be somewhere else for a while. Away from the scene of the trauma, as it were. Would you like to go with us for our next conference? It's in Germany..." Her mother was behind her, sounding worried.  
  
"Germany?" Willow turned around, looking at her mother with interest. "Where in Germany? Will they speak English, because I really don't think that my German is up for total language immersion. What will there be when I'm not listening at the conference? Will there be problem transporting my pain killers?"  
  
Her mother chuckled, clearly amused by the flow of questions. "Well, it looks like you didn't quite grow out of the babbling after all. I'm sure that there will be enough people speaking English that you will be able to manage just fine. There will be shops and restaurants, and maybe you can find some souvenirs for your friends, Xander and that Bunny girl. Just remember to take a copy of the prescription with you and your medications should be just fine, although I suggest you keep them in your carry on."  
  
Willow smiled, feeling hopeful about the whole thing. It had been over a year since her parents had offered to take her with them to any of their conferences. "I think I'd like that, mom. My passport's still valid, I can pack my things... umm, how long will we be there so I know how much to pack? Should I take my laptop?"  
  
"Ten days, assuming there aren't any delays for the trip back home. You might want to take the laptop, but I don't know how likely an internet connection will be. We'll be leaving Saturday, if you want to go."  
  
Willow had smiled, giving her mom an unexpected hug, and moved as fast as she could hobble to her room to pack things. Germany... away from the Hellmouth, away from the mess that was Sunnydale. She packed and repacked several times before she was finally satisfied. The trip over... well, the turbulence made it impossible to sleep, and she had to make several urgent trips to the tiny airplane lavatory so that she could heave up the water in her stomach, but the view was almost worth it. All of their luggage transferred with them, and they managed to check into the Munich Eagle Hotel with no difficulties.  
  
The conference itself was... rather dull, actually. Willow found herself going among shops, looking for presents, listening and practicing her German. She read it quite well, thanks to all those volumes on demons and prophecies, but her spoken German... well, it wasn't nearly as good. It was while she was looking through a store with an amazing collection of toys and carved curiosities that she heard about the circus. Apparently, there was a circus with a really, really good trapeze act, and they would be here starting tomorrow. There was something else about the star trapeze artist, but all Willow could decipher was a mention of blue. She decided that she'd like to go see the circus, she hadn't seen one since she was in elementary school.  
  
Her parents had no objection, so she found herself sitting on a narrow bench, watching the circus. There were lions, and elephants, and clowns, and tumbling acts on the ground, and trick riders, and the trapeze act. That was well worth coming. There was a blond girl in a white and red outfit, and the other person... oh my. He was blue, with a tail... or else a really good costume. But she somehow didn't think it was a costume. She watched enthralled as the Amazing Nightcrawler did flips and crossed amazing gaps on the trapeze.  
  
After the circus, she found herself sitting on a small grassy hill. The crowds had been thick enough that she'd been separated from her parents, but she was confident that she could get back to the hotel. She was taking advantage of the chance to try to ease her now aching back, and to look at the stars.  
  
"I am sorry... I did not know that anyone was here." The voice was in English, with a heavy German accent. He sounded as if he might be close to her own age.  
  
Willow looked towards the voice, and for a few moments, she couldn't quite see anyone. Then, it was as if the shadows parted, revealing... oh my, it wasn't a costume. This was the amazing Nightcrawler, his skin a deep blue, tail twitching nervously behind him, his feet different, with two long toes in the front. Abruptly, she realized that she was staring, and blushed. "It's alright, you aren't interrupting anything. I was looking at the stars."  
  
"You are certain? You.. would not mind if I sat and looked at them as well?" He sounded surprised, and a bit shy.  
  
Willow looked at him, realizing that maybe he really was that shy. Someone that was shyer than she actually was... undoubtedly due to worry about how people would react to his appearance. Well... maybe he did sort of look scary. But he seemed like a nice guy. "Really, I don't mind. I watched you at the circus... all those flips. Amazing."  
  
"I am Kurt Wagner... not to many people would want to talk to me. Not once they learned that this.. is real. The flips... those are not so difficult."  
  
She smiled, holding her hand towards him. "I'm Willow Rosenberg. And I could never do flips like that."  
  
They talked for hours, about swords, about Errol Flynn movies including a spirited debate on which was the best of all time, about books and the stars. They found that there was actually a lot of things they had in common.  
  
"It is a sad thing that you will be going back to America. I would like to be able to talk with you more." He looked so mournful at those words.  
  
Willow tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Well... I can give you my address and my email, maybe we can stay in touch that way? I mean, letters and bills and things have to go somewhere, and some of the other people have to get letters occasionally... and you know, email's sort of spreading everywhere."  
  
"I would like that. But... I do not have... email." He looked thoughtful. "Is it very difficult to get?"  
  
"No, it's not very hard at all. I mean, five minutes with a halfway decent connection and I can have you set up with a free email account." She felt the enthusiasm brimming inside.  
  
And it was really that simple to get him an email account. He'd insisted on walking her back to the hotel, worried for the safety of his new friend. They'd stopped at a small internet cafe, and he'd become the slightly bemused owner of an email account. Before they parted, he'd given her an impulsive hug, promising to stay in touch.  
  
Willow smiled the whole trip back to America, remembering her unexpected new friend. She couldn't wait to hear from him again. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.  
  
end At the Munich Circus. 


	2. Letters from Munich

Letters from Munich  
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg/pg13  
  
sequel to 'At the Munich Circus'  
  
main characters: Willow, Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler from X-Men)  
  
pairing #159 at TQC http://quickie.moonlitpaths.com/  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to anyone from BtVS or X-Men/Marvel Comics.  
  
distribution: WLS, WWW, Bite Me, Twisting, Paula, Jen - anyone else just ask.  
  
notes: set the summer after season 2 BtVS.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow had enjoyed her trip to Munich, even if the conference hadn't held her interest. There had been so many interesting things to see… and she'd got presents for everyone. Even Buffy, if – no, WHEN Buffy came back. Willow refused to think that Buffy wouldn't come back to Sunnydale. So, when her friend returned, there would be this lovely embroidered scarf for her. She'd picked up a genuine beer stein and a couple carved figures for Xander, and she'd found an old book on German 'mythology' for Giles. It had looked like some of those old German monastery demon lore books that he'd had, so she'd picked it up. She'd also found him a bootleg record of the Beatles club performances, and hoped that he'd like it.  
  
She had been smiling as she settled at her desk, checking her email. There had been quite an accumulation over the time she'd been gone, considering that she hadn't been able to get a decent connection very often. And there it was – an email from AmazingN@…. And she could feel herself smiling. Kurt had already sent her an email? How sweet.  
  
Opening the letter, she discovered that his written English wasn't quite as good as his spoken English, and there were German words mixed in with the English. He'd hoped that her return trip would be safe, and also that he'd managed to send this e-mail correctly, a hope that had made Willow smile. There were a few other things, and Willow came to the conclusion that Kurt would be a delightful e-pal.  
  
She decided to visit Xander the next day, both to make sure everything had gone well and to bring him his presents. She was still smiling as she went over, wondering if he'd be jealous about her trip to the circus. He'd had fun at he one they'd gone to in junior high, well, except fort the clowns. Maybe she'd just skim over the clowns when she told Xander about it. And about the part where Kurt was blue, at least for the moment. Predictably, Xander had a fit about her staying out late to look at the stars, asking if she'd forgotten about demons and vampires, and hey, let's not forget plain old human scum as well.  
  
She'd smiled, deciding to tell Kurt about her friend Xander being all worried. Then, it occurred to her – did Kurt know about real demons and vampires? If he didn't, how could she warn him without sounding like a fruitcake? Maybe she could try to come up with a tactful way to ease into that. Wouldn't want to freak him out right away… or at all.  
  
She was still wondering about it a few days later when she got another email from him. Apparently, the circus had gone through a small town, and there had been a recent rush of bizarre murders. Something about all the blood gone, and the necks torn. Some of the residents had been worried that Kurt had been responsible, an idea that had shocked and appalled him. He'd then included the note that 'Margali', who read people's fortunes in a small tent for the circus had claimed that it was vampires. He confessed that the idea frightened him, for several reasons. If there were really vampires, then what else might lurk in the shadows? If there were vampires, they could have been attacked while watching the stars. If it wasn't a vampire, then what or who was doing the killings? Might it be some deranged mutant?  
  
Willow had wrote back that she hoped he was okay, and that she knew he wouldn't do any such thing. After much consideration, she'd settled for saying that her high school librarian also believed in vampires, and including a list of some precautions and tips for vampires. Willow had hoped desperately that Kurt would never need to know those things, but if he did… if he needed to know, she just hoped that he remembered.  
  
She sort of hoped that he'd write to her again, instead of deciding that she was 'that weird American girl'. She didn't want to loose this fragile friendship before it even got started.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Kurt smiled as he looked through his e-mail, silently thanking Willow again for helping him set it up. She'd sent a response to his last e-mail, the one where he'd mentioned vampires, which made him sigh in relief. . He hadn't wanted to believe Margali when she'd told him what had really been killing those people, hadn't wanted to believe that there were really vampires and demons. But she'd said there were, that those things had always been real, lurking in wait for their victims.  
  
She'd said that her school librarian also believed in vampires. Kurt found himself wondering if that was the same as she believed but didn't want to frighten him, or if she thought her librarian was a crazy man. But the list of precautions sounded sensible, and they shouldn't be too difficult to follow. She wanted him to be careful, 'in case of crazy people with sharp teeth or sharp sticks'.  
  
But hopefully, Willow would take some of those precautions as well, and be safe from 'crazy people with sharp teeth'. He didn't want to loose his new friend. He didn't have many to loose. Just Amanda and... well, just Amanda and Willow, actually. How sad that seemed... Maybe things would change in the future.  
  
End Letters from Munich. 


	3. Worries from Munich

Worries from Munich  
  
author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
main characters: Willow, Kurt Wagner  
  
disclaimer: I own nobody from BtVS or Marvel Entertainment/X-Men the Movie  
  
distribution: QPC, Wic, WLS, NHA, Bite Me, Twisting, Paula, anyone else please ask.  
  
note: third in 'Munich Circus'. Big thank you's to everybody who offered me assistance with the German. Thanks Ina, Patrizia, Manda, Sin, Julie, Pagyn, and Barrie  
  
Kurt sighed, scowling at the inside of the camper. He didn't normally stay inside all the time, he was normally helping make certain that various things stayed put as the circus moved. But there had been those killings, and the angry people thinking that it had been some sort of Vampier or demon. They'd gotten very angry, very dangerous, and then someone had accused him of the killings… So he was stuck hiding inside.  
  
"Do not look so frustrated, Kurt. There is hope." Margali's voice held only worry. She was the closest that he had to a mother, having been abandoned as an infant. He'd always assumed that his birth mother hadn't wanted him because of his appearance…  
  
"How can I hope? The people in that village thought that I am some Nachtanpirschender Dämon. That I was the one killing those people. I am not a killer." He looked at her, feeling anguish that anyone would believe such things about him.  
  
" Kurt, I know this must be hard on you. But if the Dämonen and Vampires are real... then the legend of die Vampir Jägerin must also be real. A woman, chosen to fight against the creatures of darkness. A protector." She sighed, pouring him a cup of herbal tea.  
  
"A hunter of vampires? But… how? Why? Und wo ist die Jägerin?" In his agitation, Kurt had slipped into his native German, instead of the English that he was supposed to be practicing.   
  
"I do not know where she is. But if the vampires are real, the Jägerin must also be real.." Margali frowned, probably aware that she'd repeated herself. "If the evils of legend exist, surely there must be truth in the tales of protectors. Surely, there must be someone able to fight kill them. You said that our new friend, the American girl is good with computers. Perhaps she can help you find the answer to that question."  
  
"If she doesn't fear that I am verrückt for speaking of such things. I will ask her when I can next send an email." Kurt sighed, sipping at his tea.  
  
"Calm down, Kurt. I will tell you the stories that I have heard of vampires and die Jägerin while we travel. Then, when things have been set up, you can send an email to your friend." Margali poured a measure of honey into her tea, stirring it as she made her offer.  
  
"Ja, the stories might help." Kurt sighed, and settled to listen as Margali spun her tales out. He could almost see the things and places that she spoke of. Dämonen und Vampires, defeated by a woman warrior with courage and mercy in her heart... It was almost enough to make him cheerful again.  
  
Reading Willow's email made things even a bit better. Her friend Xander had told her that it was unwise and possibly dangerous to loiter to look at the stars. He'd feared that something bad could have happened to her, which sounded like a very reasonable worry after hours of tales about vampires and dämonen. Still, he was very glad that she'd sat out to see the stars, because it had allowed him to meet her.   
  
Carefully, he began typing his new email to her. He hoped that she could help him learn more about die Jägerin, and maybe then his fears would be put to rest. Willow might think he was being overly worried, but… if he explained that he did not want anyone else mistaking him for a dämon, perhaps that would keep her from worrying too much.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Willow sighed, feeling incredibly unhappy with life at the moment. Buffy was still gone, the rest of them were trying to fill in as Slayers and not doing terribly well. Everything ached from their efforts to try to stake the new risers tonight. They'd actually done quite well, taking down two of the three. Of course, it had taken the whole group to get one vampire at a time, but… wasn't two out of three better than letting them all rise, the way they would if nobody even tried?  
  
Slowly, she sat down by her computer. She would rather check her email than try to sleep. It might slow down the nightmares. Maybe there would be a new email from Kurt?  
  
Scanning his email, she felt sorrow stab through her as the tears welled in her eyes. One line in particular screamed out to her. Kurt had written 'wo ist die Jägerin?' hoping that she could help find the Slayer. Help prevent him from being mistaken yet again for a demon. But she didn't know where the Slayer was, hadn't been able to find Buffy no matter how hard she'd tried.  
  
Blinking, a thought occurred to her. Kendra had been called when Buffy had briefly drowned, and Dru had killed Kendra. That should mean that another Slayer had been called at Kendra's death. Meaning that Buffy wasn't the only one. Maybe if she hacked into the Council's database…   
  
While she started her efforts, she composed an email for Kurt. She offered her sympathy for the people being afraid of him, and wrote that if he ever needed someone to listen and not be afraid, he could write or talk to her. She even explained about Buffy, her friend who'd been the Slayer for a little over two years. She also explained about Kendra, and how that should mean there was another Slayer, or Jägerin out fighting evil, but she didn't know where.  
  
Willow wanted Kurt to be safe. Not only from people who feared he might be a demon, but from those who feared mutants. Unfortunately, nobody was entirely safe in this world. Not Kurt, not his friend Margali, not herself or Xander or Giles. Not even Buffy. Maybe when Buffy came back, she could see if she liked being called Buffy die Vampir Jägerin? The idea almost made her smile, picturing Buffy looking at her, a teasing smile as she asked ' the die vampire jagged thingy? Is that even English?'  
  
"Please come back, Buffy. We miss you, and we need you." Willow looked out into the night, wondering if Buffy was safe.  
  
End Worries from Munich.  
  
Thank you's to everyone for help with the German. Here are the translations of the words used.  
  
Dämonen - demons Dämon – demon   
  
Und wo ist die Jägerin? - And where is the Slayer? (Slayer being translated as hunter)  
  
Nachtanpirschender Dämon – night stalking demon  
  
Verrückt – crazy Ja – yes 


	4. Refugee from Munich

author: Lucinda

rating: pg13

main characters: Kurt, Willow, Xander, mention of Margali and Amanda

disclaimer: Kurt, Amanda, and Margali are the creation of Marvel comics, though this Kurt is a blending of the comic and X2 movie incarnations. Willow and Xander are the creation of Josss Whedon for the series BtVS.

distribution: with the rest of the Munich series. Otherwise please ask first.

notes: set in the summer after season 2 BtVS, before X2.

Kurt shuffled as he made his way towards the tent. The stress of the killings that had been in the last village and the rumors that had followed had been too much for the Circus's owner, and Rudy was retiring. While Kurt could understand that, he was also very worried. It would mean a change in management. What would that mean for him? What if the new owner didn't like mutants? Only time would tell, and he tried to feel hopeful. Change could be good, right?

Franz was looking sympathetic as he entered the tent. That might be a bad sign. Kurt felt his muscles tense, and he tried to tuck his tail as close to his body as he could, to look as close to normal as he could, not that he would ever look 'normal'.

Rudy was talking with a couple of the people who worried about accounting and purchases, and standing beside him was a stranger, a man who had enough of a resemblance to Rudy that they were probably related, and also about thirty years younger. The new man's expression looked somehow harder, less friendly.

As the meeting progressed, Kurt frowned more and more. The man was saying that he wanted to 'go back to the roots of the circus', but he wanted to reduce the trick riding and trapeze acts. If he was doing that, what was he expanding?

Kurt left the meeting with a vague and unwelcome feeling that he wouldn't like these changes.

The first confirmation was from Amanda, one of the other trapeze performers. "He wants us to change our costumes. Especially you... he said the scary look was good for Halloween, but he didn't want the kiddies frightened away."

"But the costume... the scary look isn't make-up." Kurt looked at Amanda, seeing how troubled she looked by all of this.

She was holding her arms around herself as she nodded. "I know. He was also saying something about mine should show a bit more leg."

Frowning, Kurt went to find Margali. Surely she would know what was going on. And what would she say about her daughter's outfit showing more leg?

"Kurt." Margali's voice was unhappy as she gestured for him to come into her tent.

Ducking his head, Kurt entered the shadowy tent, relaxing as the shadows surrounded him. Had Margali heard about the planned outfit changes? Was that why she looked so unhappy? He waited for her to speak.

"He wants to start a freak show." Her voice shook a bit as the words came out, hard and angry. To display people that others could pay to laugh at them."

"A freak show..." The thought was horrible. To spend hours watching as people waked past, laughing and mocking at you for some small difference... And then it clicked together in his mind. "And me...?"

Margali could only nod.

Kurt stared for a few moments, unable to speak at that revelation. He could feel his hands shaking, and his eyes burned, but he tried to keep the emotions under control. "What will I do?"

"Do you think..." Margali paused, her hands absently shuffling the tarot cards. "Do you think Willow could help you?"

Kurt thought about it, considering all the difficulties that would be involved in traveling to California. The awkwardness, the fear of people when they saw his face. Shuddering, he contemplated the alternative: remaining her and being displayed as a freak. "I have to try. To hope that she could."

"I'll do what I can to help you go." Margali's offer was quiet. "Kurt... you have to be careful."

As he gave the woman who had been the only mother he could remember a hug, Kurt felt a few tears slip down his cheeks. "I'll try."

The less that he ever thought about the details of his trip the calmer he would be. Smuggling himself into an airplane, dodging through to bypass customs and trying not to loose his small bag of clothing was not easy or fun. Especially since some of the security people appeared to be carrying weapons. It was a small miracle that he made it to California, and rather exhausting to get from there to Sunnydale.

He wondered if it would have helped if he could let Willow know that he was on his way there? Not that he could have, there were hardly computers that he could use, and his appearance was not such that he could easily blend in to a crowd. But he did manage to get a map, and figure out how to get to Sunnydale from Los Angeles International Airport.

By the time he managed to get to Sunnydale, which had involved slipping onto the back of a large truck hauling some sort of tarp covered cargo the proper direction, and a couple teleports to other vehicles when his rides took exits, he was tired, hungry and feeling rather terrible. But he was here.

Slowly, Kurt started to walk along a dark street, wondering where he would stay. He needed to find a place to sleep, preferably a place that would be relatively safe. He wondered if he'd be able to manage to find something to eat...

"You aren't welcome here." The words were growled, and full of hostility.

Kurt felt himself tense, and he half turned, wondering just how bad things were about to become, and if he had enough energy left to teleport away. There were three large men, looking almost human except for the yellow eyes, heavy brow ridges, and the sharp teeth. "Bluttrinker."

Growling, the vampire lunged forward, telegraphing the intention of beating Kurt into a blue smear on the ground. "Damned demons..."

Instinct tried to demand that he teleport away, but the effort sent a wave of weakness through his body and a momentary darkening of his vision. He tried to adjust, hoping to cover the weakness by dropping and rolling, bouncing up and over the second vampire. If he could get away...

Willow followed Xander down the street, feeling the aches in her back. She could move, and her doctor had cleared her to resume 'normal activity' after her accident, but she could still feel it. And since she wasn't a Slayer, was hunting for vampires even normal activity anyhow? How would she even go about asking for the medical okay for that? She clutched her squirt gun tighter, feeling a thin trickle of Holy Water escape from the plug. Maybe Xander had been right when he'd said the super-soakers would be better than the bargain water pistols...

The sounds carried easily, loud voices demanding that someone 'hold still and be squished'. Xander gave her a worried look and started moving closer, his posture telling her that he was trying very hard to be brave. Willow found herself hoping that it would be something that they could actually help with, vampires or scary looking demons instead of human bullies. And it occurred to her that there was something deeply wrong about hoping for vampires...

"This looks different." Xander muttered, squirting the water at the whole group. There were three big guys, at least one of which was clearly a vampire, and a smaller, twisting blue figure.

Willow blinked, part of her wondering if there was a reason why the blue guy seemed almost familiar before reminding herself to deal with the vampires first. She pulled her stake, stabbing it into the back of the nearest vampire, and hoping that she'd hit the heart.

The vampire fell to dust, causing Willow to stumble as she landed on the sidewalk. Nervous, she tried to keep her balance, not wanting to fall and be even less able to defend herself. A vampire grabbed at her, and she swatted at his hand with the leaky water gun, grinning a little as he howled and recoiled.

She was sure that battered jacket on the blue guy looked familiar...

The vampire with the burned hand grabbed at her again, and she stumbled while trying to dodge. The blue guy lunged, grabbing the vampire and preventing him from grabbing Willow. She stabbed the vampire with the stake, hoping that her hands weren't shaking so much that she missed the vampire's heart. That was always both embarrassing and dangerous, because it made the vampires angry.

He turned to dust, unfortunately taking the stake with him. Willow glanced at the blue figure, her eyes widening as she recognized Kurt Wagner. What had brought him out of Germany, away from the circus that he loved? "Kurt? You're..."

"Willow! Don't forget number three!" Xander's voice held concern and a bit of fear.

"Right." Willow looked up, her eyes searching for the other vampire. She found him, and squirted the water at his back, hitting just above his shirt collar.

The vampire screamed, spinning to face her. Willow jumped, and the water spray moved, hitting in the vampire's eyes. He screamed again, staggering backwards clutching at his eyes.

Naturally, that was the time that the water gun ran dry. Fortunately, it was also the time for Xander to stake the vampire from behind. Willow sighed in relief as the dust fell to the ground.

Pointing at Kurt with the stake, Xander muttered, "He does not look normal."

Kurt swayed, looking exhausted. "Guten tag... nacht? Willow."

Willow reached out, catching his hand and offering a little more support. "Hey Kurt. What brings you to Sunnydale? And I'm so sorry about the unwelcoming committee..."

"Umm... Willow? You know the blue guy? Is he..." Xander asked, looking less than happy, and a bruise already forming on his cheek.

"This is Kurt. The friend I met in Germany at the start of summer, remember?" Willow smiled, and looked at her squirt gun, which was now cracked all along the side.

"I don't think you mentioned the part where he's blue." Xnader shook his head. "So, does this mean he's a mutant and not a demon?"

"Right." Willow nodded, and then took another look at Kurt. "You look exhausted. I think we'd better get all of us to my house, everything aches, he's tired, and my squirt gun's busted."

"Die Jägerin?" Kurt's words were soft, full of worry.

"Jagger who?" Xander asked.

"He means the Slayer. I think... it's complicated. Let's just get going before we run into any more complications." Willow shook her head, and then looked at Kurt. "So, you hadn't said what brought you here."

"Erscheinen der Launen... the words... there is a new man in charge. He wanted a few changes." Kurt shook his head, clearly searching for the right words for what he was trying to say.

Willow frowned, trying to remember her few bits of German. Something about a show... And with Kurt looking so blue and well, different... The conclusion was horrible. "He wanted to put you in a freak show?"

"Ja." Kurt agreed miserably.

"Come on, we'll figure something out." Willow struggled to hold back a yawn. "We'll start planning tomorrow."

And a part of her wondered if Kurt would really be any safer here than he'd been back in Germany.

End Refugee from Munich.


	5. Immigrant from Munich

Author: Lucinda rating: pg/pg13 main characters: Willow, Kurt Wagner, Xander disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to anyone from BtVS or X-Men/Marvel Comics.   
distribution: WLS, WWW, Bite Me, Twisting, Paula, Jen - anyone else just ask.   
notes: set the summer after season 2 BtVS.

Kurt followed Willow, aching with exhaustion. He'd been attacked by vampires. Willow and her friend Xander had been fighting vampires. Die Jägerin was gone. Maybe it would make more sense in the morning...

He was vaguely aware as they made their way to Willow's house, noticing that the little mat in front of the door didn't say any variation of 'Wilkomen', but instead had a simple ivy pattern.

"Vampires can't come in without an invitation. We weren't sure if a welcome mat counted." Xander offered, pointing at the ivy-mat. "Better safe than sorry."

They ended up sitting in the living room, holding warm mugs of weak cocoa with little marshmallow pellets floating on the top. "This.... are there many blutttrinkers in Sunnydale? You did not seem very surprised."

Willow looked at her mug, and closed her eyes. "Not just vampires. There's a lot of weird stuff. Vampires, demons, weird stuff that shouldn't happen... I wonder if Marcie was a mutant?"

Xander leaned back, his back making a few popping noises. "It's the Hellmouth. It draws the baddies, and somehow, our town got built right on top of it. Welcome to the Hellmouth, Kurt."

Kurt shuddered. He didn't know quite what a Hellmouth was, but with a name like that, it had to be a very bad thing. And he'd thought that he'd be safer here... "Is this place safer?"

"It all depends on what safe means." Xander commented. "There's lots of churches with holy water, and most of the vamps and demons can't go into those. No freak shows. And hey, nobody's really going to worry too much about a guy on the street who's blue."

"They'll try to pretend that everything's normal. It's the only way most people can cope with living here." Willow said. "Sunnydale... it's not really safe, but because of that, unless something's dripping slime or trying to rip heads off or something equally icky, nobody notices. They don't think anything's odd about a town this size having so many cemeteries and churches, or the death rate being so high."

"A different sort of danger then." Kurt nodded. Her words... they made sense and they frightened him at the same time.

"Yeah." Willow agreed sadly. "But really, is anyone really safe in this world at all?"

Kurt accepted a blanket and a pillow, content to curl up on the couch for the night, although he wasn't certain why Willow's parents would be willing to go away for the week considering what he'd learned about this town. Xander had said they were members of the Sunnydale Denial League, which had left him puzzled at first. But he'd deciphered it eventually - they didn't let themselves see anything unusual about the place.

Things should look better in the morning... at least, he hoped they would.

Morning felt like it came early. Willow sighed, and slowly made her way to the kitchen, wondering what Kurt would like for breakfast. Xander would eat anything, but loved the pancakes. After a moment, she decided to make the pancakes and hope that Kurt was okay with that.

The smell of food brought both of them into the kitchen, and Xander got the plates and forks, passing them to Kurt to set the table. Pancakes and syrup and apple juice... yeah, morning felt very early.

"You never did say if you'd heard anything from Oz. Shouldn't they be getting back from that trip to... where were they going anyhow? India?" Xander asked, helping himself to four pancakes.

"He sent another post card." Willow sighed, feeling a pang of what could have been. "Apparently they found this monastery in Tibet, and he thinks they can help him. Oz is staying there, and his family should be back next month."

"Tibet? Is he going to sit on a mountaintop and go 'ommmmm' in a yellow robe?" Xander teased.

Willow giggled a little. "Maybe. He said there are meditations, and the head guy said they should be able to teach him control. Which would be good, no more locking him up in the book cage."

"Locking him up?" Kurt repeated, clearly confused.

"Oz is a werewolf. When he changes, he's... It's safer to keep him in one place, so nobody gets hurt." Willow looked wistful, remembering the rest of the postcard, where he'd gently broken up with her. He'd said she deserved better than to be tied to a guy off in another country for however long it took to master tranquility.

"Strange places." Kurt shook his head, lifting another pancake to his plate.

"You're welcome to stay." Willow offered, feeling a little nervous, and recognizing the little flutter inside of her. "If you want to."

"It might be nice to stay." His words were soft, and he was looking right at her.

"Right, I'll just go see if Giles has heard anything about Buffy..." Xander muttered, making his way out of the kitchen. "She's got to come back, this is home. We need her."

Willow glanced over at Kurt, and realized that maybe... could she and Kurt...? Would he even be interested in her, or would it be another unreturned crush? Maybe she could find out, if he would be staying in Sunnydale. Of course, she could embarrass herself completely...

Hoping for courage, Willow walked over, her hand resting on Kurt's shoulder. "Kurt? I'm glad that you're here."

She leaned closer, and kissed him on the cheek, feeling herself turn pink.

His hands moved, holding her close, and for a moment, he stood there, looking surprised. Slowly and very gently, he kissed her lips, offering, "I'm very glad to be here."

Life in Sunnydale was looking up a little after all.

end Immigrant from Munich.   
End Munich series.


End file.
